Opening New Frontiers – Exploring Chaos in Life/Work

Clarence De Schiffart & Laurie Edwards

CANNEXUSJanuary 27, 2013

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Email:

Clarence.deschiffart@nscc.ca

"May my mind come alive today to the invisible

geography that invites me to new frontiers.”

John O'Donahue  

Chaos Theory

Click icon to add picture

Does anyone know about the Butterfly Effect?

Faces of Career Development

YouTube Videohttp://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRW_YbEPIL0

Small group activity: The Potential Impact of Chaos in Your Life

• Write an unexpected life event on one side of the paper

• On the other side, write how that event contributed to your life/work situation

Chaos in Life/WorkShare a your “chaos story” and the impact it had on your life in a small group…

o What was it like for you at the time? Looking back now?

o What did you experience (thoughts, emotions)?

o What got you through it?

(c) Clarence De Schiffart 2012

In small groups discuss…

As a Career Practitioner, what is it like to work with people who…

Appear to have lost their way?

Seem confused about life options?

Do not seem to have a direction in their life/work?

(c) Clarence De Schiffart 2012

Chaos Theory Helps Deals With Complexity in the World

• Our Human Complexity? our minds, bodies, social networks, past history, and other influences

• Our Goal as CDP? Help people understand these complexities

Source:http://careersintheory.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/applied-chaos

Our careers are:

• Subject to chance events

• Subject to non-linear changeo sometimes small steps have profound outcomes o sometimes changing everything changes nothing

• Unpredictableo most people express a degree of surprise/delight or

disappointment at where they ended up.

“Factors” within Chaos Theory

In small groups respond to:

What is the impact of knowing these “factors” (chaos theory) on a person’s capacity to intentionally navigate their career decision making?

e.g. predictability of the future• The NHL lockout• Great fruit season in Annapolis Valley NS, very poor one in

southern ON• Winning the lottery• The loss of a father/mothers job

Our careers are:

• Subject to continual change. o Sometimes we experience slow shift that results in us drifting off

course without realizing it,o Sometimes our careers have dramatic (fast shift) changes which

completely turn our world upside down.

“We take shape and exhibit self-similar patterns, trajectories, traits, narratives, preoccupations over time & we are too

complex to be easily captured and put into simple boxes, interest or personality codes”.

Additional “Factors” within Chaos Theory

Source: http://careersintheory.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/applied-chaos

Non-linear Career Events• Example: A person is not sick for 5 years and

then misses one day. An important and urgent meeting takes place and s/he is not chosen for a team taking the lead on a new project.

• Example: Person goes to a conference and has a chance meeting with a famous keynote speaker.

(c) Clarence De Schiffart 2012

Where Will You Be?YouTube video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrpC0pZHUe4

The Ping Pong Balls and Puppiesreference

• Scenario 1: in a room with a ping pong ball .. Drop it and what can you predict?

• Scenario 2: add an electric fan and a eager ball chasing puppy is chasing you? What can you predict?

• Scenario 3: add a pack of eager puppies, a series of electric fans, an open window with a howling gale and you are now running on an electric treadmill that is programmed to randomly change speed. (c) Clarence De Schiffart 2012

The Ping Pong Balls and Puppies

• Making long term predictions with Scenario 3 is difficult

• Careers are influenced by parents, social and environmental context, gender, age, political and economic climate, interests, abilities, geography, and many other events

(c) Clarence De Schiffart 2012

Chaos Theory of Careers World Factors

• Speed of technology

• Reshaping of organizations

• Speed and extent of change

• Need of life long learning

• Globalization of both consumer and labour markets

• Increasing contractual nature of work

• Rapidity of technology innovation and its adaptation

(c) Clarence De Schiffart 2012

Implications on Career Development?

Shift Happens YouTube video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkt2escJAQI

Life/Work Implications

1. Look at each person’s entirety and then help them understand the patterns and processes in his/her life. Orient client expectations.

2. Try not to "narrow down" conversations to only “career-related” (work) topics. Bring in the holistic life/work blend discussion.

3. Make use of qualitative approaches by using narrative, analogy, and metaphor – creating meaning for the person at their present stage of being and

understanding .(c) Clarence De Schiffart 2012

Life/Work Implications

4. Help people make sense of their past behavior and the unpredictable nature of a range of influences from the past.

5. Help people understand and accept the finite limits of our human understanding -- accept that all knowledge is open to doubt and revision and open to different interpretations from different perspectives

Resources

• Norm Amundson’s books on Counselling. In particular, Active Engagement, Metaphor Making and The Physics of Living

• The Complexity Perception Index www.brightandassociates.com.au

• Chaos Theory of Careers, Jim Bright

Wrap-up

For additional information or commentsContact:

Laurie EdwardsLaurie.edwards@nscc.ca Clarence DeSchiffart

Clarence.deschiffart@nscc.ca

(c) Clarence De Schiffart 2012